Wolf Man star Christopher Abbott talks about his 7-hour transformation

Christopher Abbott was the first actor Leigh Whannell approached for the titular role in it The wolf manWhile the project changed hands for a while, the universe eventually brought the star and director back together.

In Whannell’s long-awaited follow-up to his widely acclaimed works The invisible man (2020), Abbott plays Blake Lovell, a writer turned stay-at-home dad who, in an attempt to save his marriage, convinces his journalist wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner), to temporarily move from San Francisco to his childhood. Home in rural Oregon. Charlotte reluctantly agrees to a change of scenery, but just as their moving truck reaches the remote area, the Lovell family is attacked by… Something.

From there, Blake discovers a wound on his arm, which soon begins to deteriorate in a heartbreaking way, mirroring the experience of losing a loved one to a sudden (or years-long) incurable illness. Abbott’s physical transformation was divided into several stages, the last of which took up to seven hours to complete. Needless to say, the long makeup and prosthetics process put Abbott in a difficult situation before he had to film for hours on end.

“It looks beautiful, and I’m grateful that we made real prosthetics. The movie is the best for it. But it’s tedious and arduous,” Abbott says. Hollywood Reporter. “Just wearing a prosthetic for hours is more tiring than you think. The prosthetic parts are heavy, and they weigh down on you. Physically, you feel like you’re a little trapped, so it’s a mental marathon as well.”

During the pandemic, Abbott lived with BrutalThe brain trust of writer-director Brady Corbett and co-writer Mona Fastvold, who have been introducing life partners and creatives to each other for nearly 15 years. Thus, he has a vested interest in the epic drama’s success, as it remains one of the top Oscar nominees this awards season.

“I’ve always believed in them and know they’re great, and it’s nice to see the world catching up now,” Abbott says. “I was privy to all the conversations and frustrations of getting money, losing money, getting it back, and changing crew. So, in a very strange way, I feel part of this movie just by hearing the phone conversations in the other room.”

Below, during a recent conversation with THRAbbott also discusses how The wolf manFastvold’s prosthetics changed his acting style, before he shed some light on the historical musical he had just wrapped with Fastvold.

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Please forgive me if you’ve already gotten this cheeky question, but was Leigh Whannell inspired by the ending Bad things? Did that brief moment get the ball rolling on your casting?

(He laughs.) I’ve said many times in interviews that I’ve never been asked to play an animal before, but I forgot. I was like, ‘Oh, right. I played a goat in.’ Bad thingsSo now I have to worry about writing. [Writer’s Note: Whannell was already a fan, but Abbott’s stage performance alongside Aubrey Plaza in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea was the clincher.]

When an acting class is filmed on screen, there is usually a scene involving animal action. Was this part of your training when you were coming up?

Yes, I definitely did that in school. You have to become an animal, or a tree, of course. “Do this scene as if you were a gorilla.” There were a lot of those things, so it was good to utilize that old training.

You’ve done a lot of unconventional work in your career, but between the makeup/prosthetics and the brutal performances, were you really intimidated by this role?

I was just excited to be able to focus on the physical aspect more. It’s definitely the most physical role I’ve ever done in this way, or the most [physical] The work I had to do. It forces your brain to think differently and approach things differently. For anything else, I would never look in the mirror and practice my lines, but for The wolf manbecause of the prosthetics, you have to see how your face moves under the prosthetics and what it transmits. So I thought this was interesting.

Did your prosthetics get in the way of anything you normally do?

It didn’t hold me back, but it changed the way I act without any prosthetics or makeup. How can one convey sadness or anger when you have prosthetics. So you have to be a little greater In terms of what you do with your face underneath, but that’s the reality.

Most films are shot out of sequence, but given the systematic shift Blake goes through in one location, were you able to film most of the film’s events chronologically?

No, not really, but the good thing is that there were specific industrial stages. So, whatever tracking I had to do on my own and in my mind, it was easy to remember based on the prosthetics I was wearing that day. I was like, “Oh, right. When I look this way, I’m at this level.” So it was a team effort in terms of tracking those things.

Up to seven hours in the makeup trailer seems particularly exhausting. How much gas is left in the tank after you’re done?

It looks beautiful, and I’m grateful that we made real prosthetics. The movie is the best for it. But yeah man, it’s hard and tough. It takes hours, and then you have to shoot. Just wearing a prosthetic for hours is more tiring than you think. Prosthetic parts are heavy, and they weigh you down. Physically, you feel like you’re a little trapped, so it’s a mental marathon too.

Have you consumed a lot of podcasts and audiobooks to pass the time in your chair?

I got along well with Aryan [Tuiten]the [prosthetics & special make-up effect] Designer, and [key prosthetic/makeup artist] Bam [Goldammer]. The three of us were making prosthetics together all the time, playing music, talking and creating moods. So I didn’t do that kind of thing.

Knowing how good the creature effects in the film are and how much effort went into them, were you ever so frustrated when people’s first glimpse was a less-than-ideal version of a theme park?

I was off work when it happened. What happened? I don’t even know what exactly happened.

Although I have great affection for Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, they had… The wolf man An attraction with Wolf Man that was not a reflection of the work I created on screen. So the Internet had its way of dealing with it, but all’s well that ends well.

Oh, I see. I’m a Luddite, so I don’t know what’s going on anywhere at any time, honestly.

The wolf man This is the third time she’s played a character who lives under the same roof as Julia Garner’s character, but it’s the first time they’ve actually interacted on screen.

Third time? There was Martha Marcy May Marlene.

You also played your roommate during your comeback episode girls Season five [2016’s “The Panic in Central Park”].

Oh, right. amazing. (He laughs.)

Did you both feel like ships passing in the night?

I think so! I mean clearly. (He laughs.) This is the first movie we’ve done together [Martha] It was filmed a long time ago [in 2010]. This was our first two films, and I’ve gotten to know Julia over the years. We have mutual friends. So, if we were to reconvene about anything, it would have been nice to do so on this topic and have a lot to do together.

That highlight shot of Blake is truly impressive. Were they able to achieve this change in lighting that day?

Yes, it was that day, for sure. This made it seem like a bit of a play, which I liked. It looked like a classic type of stage light. So I thought it added to the theatricality of the performance in some way, or at least the physicality mixed with that theatricality.

As for seeing the wolf, most of this effect must have been created afterward, but did you have to do anything unusual on the day to explain it?

A lot of that was done in camera as well. When the camera rotated and changed perspective, there were dramatic shifts in light that occurred during photography. This also added to the reality, or basically, the unreality of the whole thing, which is great.

I also loved this shade that was photographed in the bedroom when Blake was early in his transition. His posture is starting to change, so his shadow reflects the way his arms and hands hang differently.

Yeah, the progression is very gradual in this movie, so being able to play with how far it progressed was really interesting. It starts with just the fingers, and eventually works its way up through the arms and the rest of the body. So it was a lot to keep track of, but it’s fun to play with a physicality like that.

The Blake family needs a change of pace, so they temporarily move to Oregon. Can you live this remotely?

No, I live in New York. It’s just the opposite. I love having friends around me, and I love being close to them. I wouldn’t mind having a break at the beach or something, but no, I’m fine.

The production notes mention that Blake’s mother had ALS, but I don’t recall any mention of it in the film. Did that piece hit the ground?

Yes, I think so. There was a scene where she was in bed or something. It wasn’t much. It was already a little, but the essence of something being wrong still came out. So, that’s a good choice, but it’s really a question for me. [Writer’s Note: Whannell will have a lot to add on Jan. 17, when THR publishes its interview with him.]

Before we change tack, what day best sums up your adventures as a Wolf Man?

For whatever reason, everyone clings to the arm-chewing scene, so maybe it’s through other people that I keep thinking about it, but I think that’s why.

It has just been reported that you are filming another project with Mona Fastvold [Ann Lee]. You’ve been close to the Fastvold-Corbet family for a long time, are you happy to see all the accolades they’ve received?

Yes, I am very proud. Proud is almost a foreign word because they are contemporary. But Brady and Mona have been friends for a long time, and Mona was one of the first friends she made when she moved to New York. Shortly after, I met Brady separately. So I’ve always believed in them and I know they’re great, and it’s nice to see the world catching up now. [Writer’s Note: Abbott actually introduced Corbet and Fastvold to each other roughly 15 years ago.]

I recently learned that you lived with Brady and Mona during Covid, were you aware of that? Brutal Before it finally gets off the ground?

Yes, as friends, I was privy to all the conversations and frustrations of getting money, losing money, getting it back, and changing cast. So, in a very strange way, I feel part of this movie just by hearing the phone conversations in the other room.

He is It’s mine Your first musical of any kind?

I’ve never done a musical before, and Mona’s latest film, of course, is a musical. But without giving away too much — it’s cute Dancer in the dark to evil – It’s much closer to Dancer in the darkIts lands.

I watched Josh Mond James White Having mentioned that in our previous interview. What is the story behind your last film together? It doesn’t matter?

He spent a lot of time working on it during 2020 and 2021. It’s a very avant-garde piece. There is even animation in it. I don’t actually do much with it. I have a small role, but it’s a mixture of everything: animation, documentary, and fantasy.

Alessandro Nivola And I talked about it Kraven the Hunter Recently, I thought you both created unforgettable characters. But despite a great cast, a talented director in JC Chandor and plenty of resources, every movie is still just a roll of the dice, right? You never know.

Yeah, you never know, man. definitely. That’s the thing. This work is by nature the most collaborative, and essentially the most expensive, art. So there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen sometimes, and whether that’s the actors or the director or someone else, it takes a village.

Finally, how are things? East of Aden treat you?

I’ll be back soon to do what is essentially the second half of it. So I’m in the middle of it now, which is exciting.

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The wolf man It opens in cinemas on January 17.